Steering wheel wobble between 55-65mph (Solved)

Replaced those 3 months ago hoping that would be the fix. Both rotors in front and drums pads in rear.

Also my buddy says they balanced to be hub centric. The manufacturer of my wheels also said thats how they should be balanced on my taco.

 

tie rods?

 

I had the same issue and I replaced my steering rack and bushings and the problem went away. I would definitely explore the steering rack issues. At a minimum replace the rack bushings with Energy Suspension poly bushings and tighten the two bolts tighter than spec recommends. Probably around 100ft lbs. I believe spec is 85 (but I could be wrong here). My truck is 2006, 2.5 " lift with 145,000 miles. When I pulled the rack off, I found power steering fluid on it, I couldn't tell if it was leaking or if I had gotten fluid on it during removal, so I went ahead and bought a new OEM steering rack just to be safe since I had higher mileage. After the steering rack replacement and Energy suspension bushings, it drives like a brand new truck. Steering rack replacement is a PITA, but not too difficult if your mechanically inclined. Numerous threads on here about changing them. Good luck!

 

Balance the rears and put them on the front and see what happens.

 

inner tie rods.

 

@Noshoes Totally forgot about tie rods, I'll check those out first thing tomorrow morning!

@Ten I've seen the videos on the steering rack and it definitely doesn't look enjoyable. Thats interesting about finding fluid on it when you replaced it as i've actually been having to refill my power steering every few months. Its never been low by a significant amount at all, just to keep it topped off but there might be an incredibly slow leak somewhere.

 

Check in the boots

 

@Ten Eight Rider @Alexely999 @No Shoes Nation

Alright, I went through and replaced the inner/outer tie rods on both sides. While there wasn't any play when push/pulling on the original tie rods the inners felt worn out and could easily be moved by hand so I just replaced them all. It does appear though that i have a leak issue. Passenger side had minimal oil on the original but the driver side had a ton of oil pooled up in the boot. I attached pictures. I checked my power steering fluid levels and there hasn't been any drop since the last time I filled it up maybe 6 months ago. I'm unsure of where that oil is coming from since its apparently not tied to the power steering pump.

After replacing those tie rods I took the truck for my usual work drive and had zero steering wobble. I hope that was the issue but i'll give it a few more days before marking this as solved.

As a bonus I found out that my brand new UCA bushings have worn out already and theres slop in that now so hopefully Light racing will warranty that.

Close of driver side steering box
Further back picture of whole assembly

 

The fluid in the boot points towards internal failure in the steering rack I believe. Not 100% sure.

 

I had the same leak that is what I figured and why I went ahead and replaced with new OEM. Works great now, so I'm happy I did it!

 

I found the same oil during my removal and that was why I replaced the whole rack.

 

@Alexely999 @Ten Eight Rider

Thats what I was afraid of. I'm going on a long drive today to make sure the wobble is gone. If its not gone then i'm going to see if my local shop can get that rack replaced soon. I'm still confused as to what that oil is since my power steering fluid levels are still topped off. Does the rack have its own oil reservoir?

 

I had the exact same issue - culprit was a combination of balancing and Wildpeaks - I know a TON of trucks on here have them. But my guess is balance issue.

Switched to KO2's and it's gone... Had my truck worked on a few weeks later (vibe came back) - had them rebalance my tires, vibes gone again.

 

I know right? I had similar issues and it was because I recently out on off roading tires after being on street tires.

Wheel balancing can only do so much. Sometimes I get the steering wheel shakey shakey....I'm like...meh...go figure

 

OP also said he changed inner/outer tie rods and had zero steering wobble after.

 

Alright guys, the issue is definitely fixed. Drove 250 miles now with zero wobble so it definitely was the tie rods! Thank you all for the info, I guess my next step is to see about finding the leak in the steering rack. As a good note though light racing is giving me a new UCA as well!

 

you're welcome, glad you got it.

 

Nice!!!